Progress
by CrypticCatalyst
Summary: "The boy looked up, surprised at being addressed, before quickly lowering his head again. But not before Magnus had seen the somewhat large splotch, dark red against milky white skin, on his cheek. A port wine stain." One shot for Alec's 26th birthday. Unrelated to my other fics.


Magnus inconspicuously glanced at the boy sitting a few tables away once more. Said boy was wearing a black sweatshirt, hoodie pulled over his head. He couldn't discern what his face looked like, but he'd caught a glimpse of an aquiline nose. That held some promise.

"If you think he's a looker, go for it." Ragnor insisted, elbowing him.

"I can't even tell how old he is. I'm not going to be known as the pedophile of Java Jones," Magnus sighed.

"It's not like you're ancient, Bane. You're twenty. And he has to be seventeen at the least. Now go see if he swings your way." Ragnor rolled his eyes.

"If he wants to get me arrested for harassment, you're bailing me out of jail." Magnus grumbled, then placed his cup of coffee on the table and stood up.

"Excuse me? Have you seen a cat around the area? I'm afraid mine ran off a few days ago." Magnus put on an apologetic smile as he slid into the empty seat across from the boy.

The boy looked up, surprised at being addressed, before quickly lowering his head again. But not before Magnus had seen the somewhat large splotch, dark red against milky white skin, on his cheek. A port wine stain.

"I haven't seen any cats around." The boy said softly.

"I have a picture. Maybe you could make sure you haven't seen him?" Magnus urged, fishing a small photo out of his wallet.

The boy's head snapped up, stunning blue eyes filled with a wavering resolve as he looked Magnus square in the face. And the mark on his cheek didn't make him any less gorgeous. "I've never seen that cat before. Sorry." He paused, probably waiting for Magnus to comment on his face.

"You have amazing eyes." Magnus beamed when the boy blushed.

"I—what?"

"What's your name?" He wondered if he was going a bit too fast, but didn't let his uncertainty leak into his confident (hopefully not stalker-like) grin.

"I'm Alexander." He murmured, surprised. "People call me Alec."

"Well, Alexander, I'm Magnus. And I'd really like to get to know you sometime." He winked, handed him his address on a slip of paper, and rejoined Ragnor.

Magnus watched in satisfaction as the boy hesitantly pocketed the paper and swiftly left, still ducking his head to hide his face from passerby.

"Told ya." Ragnor smirked, and Magnus emptied the contents of his cup onto his friend's head, causing his to retaliate. Needless to say, they were kicked out.

It took an entire three days for Alec to show up. Magnus didn't even think that he would. But at around six in the evening, his doorbell chimed.

"If you aren't a cute boy, leave!" He called, not being in a very charitable mood.

"I'm not sure about cute. I'm a boy, though…" A small voice replied.

"Alexander?"

"Yes?"

"Okay. Let's establish something." Magnus declared as he opened the door and gestured for him to enter. "You are cute. That is a fact. Okay?"

"I'm not—" Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

"I was starting to think you weren't going to show."

"Well, I don't know you! And I've never been… flirted with before?" He turned pink. "I'm only here because my sister convinced me to come."

"Never been flirted with before? I don't believe you!" Magnus crossed his arms.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly favorable. I have a capillary malformation." Alec replied dryly, before he realized how he sounded and ducking his head again.

"Do you always hide your face?" Magnus asked, sitting down on the couch. Alec almost unconsciously sat beside him, and the Chairman jumped onto his lap.

"You never lost your cat!"

"Don't change the subject."

"Well, yeah, I guess. At first, I wasn't allowed to wear hoods or baseball caps at school, but when I was seven or eight, I was bullied so badly that my parents threatened to sue. The principal backed off pretty quickly after that." He snorted.

"Well, hopefully they don't sue me, because this apartment is a no-hiding zone." Magnus pulled down his hood, revealing Alec's jaw-length raven hair. Oh Lord. Black hair and blue eyes. His kryptonite.

"Why don't you care?"

"About what?"

"You know what I'm talking about." He huffed.

"I have bilateral coloboma." Magnus admitted. And he didn't usually just tell people, either. But he had a good feeling about Alexander.

"What's that?" Alec tilted his head.

"Here, let me show you. I'm wearing colored contacts right now, just because, while I am comfortable with the fact that I'm special, I have been called demon spawn before." Magnus easily removed them, and Alec stared at him the way that he himself had been stared at his entire life.

Magnus knew what he was seeing. Those key-hole shaped pupils that were so reminiscent of a cat's.

"I didn't mean to look at you like that." Alec lowered his eyes.

"It's okay. I guess I'm lucky to have decent vision at all. And my eyes are symmetrical, that's a plus."

"So you have a rare birth defect, just like me." Alec grumbled as Magnus replaced the lenses.

"Not a defect. I'm just unique. That doesn't have to be bad."

"Well, I'm getting my cheek lasered someday." Alec sighed.

"All the more reason to flaunt it while you have it. Like, maybe I can scare people on Halloween and stuff."

Alec snickered despite himself. "I'd like to see that."

"Stick with me, and you will." Magnus grinned, and he blushed.

"I just might." Alec grinned back, eyes brightening. It was the first smile he'd gotten out of him since they'd met. And it was an amazing thing to behold.

"There, I was starting to think you're an android."

"In my defense, I don't even know anything about you, except that your name is Magnus."

"We have to fix that." Magnus proclaimed. "I'm Magnus Bane, twenty years old, and I'm a clothing designer. I prefer to be called a fashion extraordinaire."

"I never would've guessed." Alec replied sarcastically, looking him up and down. "I'm Alec Lightwood—"

"Lightwood? How is that fair? You get an awesome last name too?" It sounded almost faery-like.

Alec blushed again. "Uh, yeah, so, I'm eighteen and I'm going to be a police officer."

"A police officer." Magnus repeated skeptically.

"Yes. In fact, I could shoot your cat between the eyes with a pistol." Alec looked offended and the other's skepticism. Chairman Meow was perched on the kitchen counter, about eight or nine yards away. "I mean, if I wanted to. Not that I have any violent intentions towards your cat."

"Of course you don't. And yes, I get it, you must be quite the marksman." Magnus checked his watch. "Well, I have to go meet up with some friends soon, but I do owe you something for dragging you off to Crazytown. They're showing quite a selection of movies at the AMC tomorrow afternoon. Want to meet there at one?"

"Alright." Alec agreed bashfully.

"Oh, and I almost forgot!" Magnus leaned over and kissed him softly. It wasn't much of a kiss, more like a brushing of lips, but Alec still gasped. And kissed him back, seeming as surprised with himself as Magnus was.

"Tomorrow." He echoed, still a bit breathless. And he left, almost stumbling down the stairs as he went. Magnus smiled to himself when he didn't pull his hood back up. Even if he'd simply forgotten to, it was still progress.

* * *

 **A/N: Haha, I know, it was awful. I had to do something for Alec's birthday, and this is the result. If anyone wants to turn this into a full-fledged fic, PM me! I'd do it myself, but SCHOOL. Yes, ladies and gents, the dreaded S-word. Well, thanks for reading, and as always, stay awesome ;)**


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